The cold wind howled across the grounds. The surface of the Black Lake had frozen over and was covered in snow.
The spectators in the stands wrapped their coats more tightly around themselves and pulled their scarves snug around their necks.
Yet in weather like this, the contestants had to enter the Black Lake and search for treasure.
Leaving aside the problem of holding their breath underwater for an hour, the near-freezing water alone would be enough to make them suffer.
Rhys looked around and discovered that every contestant seemed to have their own special method.
Daphne, standing beside him, took out a strangely shaped box and fitted it over her face. It matched the contours of her features perfectly.
Rhys: ???
Daphne noticed his gaze and gave him an awkward smile.
"I placed an Undetectable Extension Charm inside it and created a space within the box to provide enough air for me to breathe."
As she spoke, Daphne began applying waterproof ointment around the edges of the box to completely seal even the tiniest gaps.
Rhys: Impressive.
He had not expected Daphne to solve the problem in such a way.
It immediately reminded him of the Muggle diving equipment known as oxygen tanks.
Rhys looked around again and discovered that some contestants really had put on Muggle diving gear.
The Ilvermorny students had all removed their wizarding robes, revealing identical diving suits underneath. Each of them even had an oxygen tank strapped to their back.
It seemed Ilvermorny had certainly not abandoned its study of the Muggles' strange inventions.
After looking at the Ilvermorny group, Rhys glanced towards the Hogwarts students.
Astoria, like him, had done nothing at all. She was merely taking repeated deep breaths.
Hermione and Cedric, meanwhile, each had a huge bubble surrounding their head.
'Bubble-Head Charm? Interesting.'
Rhys immediately understood Hermione and Cedric's approach.
At its core, their method was no different from Daphne's or the Ilvermorny students'. They were simply creating a source of breathable air underwater.
Harry, Neville, and Luna were eating something.
As for the students from the other magical schools, each had their own tricks.
Some transformed their heads into those of fish, some drank potions, while others brought out the automated combat puppets made by Helga.
They had chosen special puppets equipped with a manual control mode. These were a newer model Helga had developed for use as teaching tools, yet somehow they had ended up being used in the tournament.
Since this stage placed no restrictions on the contestants using outside assistance, they were free to use whatever methods they wanted, so long as they personally entered the lake to search for the treasure.
Rhys even saw a black-haired young man take a yellowed sheet of paper from his robes.
With a flick of his hand, the paper burst into flames, and a large semi-transparent fish appeared before him.
The young man raised his hand and pointed towards the Black Lake.
The translucent fish immediately plunged into the water and vanished from sight.
'Interesting. This really is broadening my horizons.'
Watching the young man's technique, even Rhys felt that he had learned something new.
That fellow seemed to be using a completely different system of power.
Once the contestants had finished their preparations, they began walking towards the Black Lake.
With dozens of explosions, the frozen surface of the lake was blasted open by the combined efforts of the contestants.
Broken ice flew everywhere, revealing the dark, deep, seemingly bottomless water beneath.
Many contestants' expressions changed sharply when they saw it.
Even though they had already prepared themselves mentally, the sight of such dark water still awakened an instinctive fear buried deep within the human soul.
But as contestants, they had no choice.
After hesitating for a few seconds, the first contestant began walking towards the lake.
Then came the second, the third...
Rhys glanced at several students standing near one corner of the Black Lake and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
That seemed to be the place where he had previously buried the Dementors.
Hopefully, those unfortunate fellows would not be affected by the lingering remnants of their power.
He turned and glanced at Helga, only to find that her gaze was also moving over those students.
Rhys immediately relaxed.
With Helga there, it probably would not result in anyone dying.
Rhys also began walking towards the Black Lake.
Harry followed behind him, looking as though he was having difficulty breathing.
Rhys turned his head and happened to notice the long, narrow slits beneath Harry's ears.
He had grown gills.
Now Rhys knew what Harry had just eaten.
Rhys slowly stepped into the waters of the Black Lake, pushed aside a few pieces of drifting ice, then sank into the lake like a lead weight.
There were still more than a dozen contestants who had not entered the water. They sat on the shore with their eyes closed as though they had given up, as if the competition had nothing to do with them anymore.
The freezing water caused Rhys no discomfort whatsoever. To him, there was no difference between being underwater and standing on land.
After sinking beneath the surface, Rhys opened his eyes, determined the direction, and manipulated the current to carry him towards the bottom of the lake.
While Rhys drifted along with the water, he sensed a disturbance. The next moment, three figures swept past him.
They were Neville, Luna, and Harry. Their gills opened and closed as they drew in water, while their hands and feet had become frog-like, with long fingers and webbing between them.
"How does Gillyweed taste?" Rhys teased them.
Hearing Rhys's voice, all three stopped.
Harry and Luna clearly wanted to answer, but when they opened their mouths, no sound came out. Instead, a large bubble escaped from each of them.
"That's how it works underwater. Some of your organs have changed and become more like those of a fish."
Rhys casually explained the effects of Gillyweed to the three of them.
Seeing Rhys move and speak underwater without the slightest difficulty, all three froze.
A question inevitably appeared in their minds.
How was he doing that?
Neville struggled to make a gesture, asking whether they should travel together.
Rhys naturally agreed.
The four of them swam towards the centre of the lake together.
As they gradually descended, the surroundings became completely dark.
Rhys snapped his fingers, and a cluster of dim blue light appeared beside him to illuminate the area. Harry and the others also drew their wands, causing faint points of light to appear at the tips.
In the darkness underwater, light could easily attract predators and other fish, but Rhys did not care.
Any creature that tried to approach them was immediately swept away by a powerful current and carried dozens of metres into the distance.
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12 Chaps ahead at Patreon.com/HornyFBI